The missing piece he yearns to find
by victoriarty
Summary: Alec reveals - Ellie tries to alleviate his suffering.
1. Chapter 1

_**Note**: English is not my native language. It could be that there are some mistakes, but I think the story can be read easily anyway. I hope you enjoy it!_

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"So, please call me. I'd really like to hear from you soon! Uhm... bye."

Alec Hardy hung up. He sighed.  
He haven't heard from his daughter for ages. He missed her. He really did. But she didn't answer his calls and mails. It's really depressing. Everytime he tried to call her and she didn't answer, something in him died. It slowley but surely destroyed him.

Alec stood up and put on his jacket. He shut down his computer and leaved. He needed some fresh air. On his way out he nearly ran into Ellie, who was reading some important informations for their case.

"Oh, uhm... sorry."

Ellie ignored his apology.

"Hey you, I have new informations about the Latimer case" she said.

"Well... great... please tell me later... no time..." he said, looking at the floor.

Ellie had trouble to understand him. He stuttered, and didn't look at her face once. She looked at him. He looked absent. It seemed that he had problems again.

"Please tell me what's wrong with you! I can see that there's a thing that worries you! Is it your health? Or do you have any financial problems?"

Alec looked up to her.

"There is no problem! Please, leave me alone!" he said with a loud voice. He turned around, took a deep breath and left.

Ellie looked at Alec leaving. She was speechless. Now she's sure; there definitely is a serious problem. And she needs to find out what it is.


	2. Chapter 2

Alec went to the cliffs. He sat down at a bench and looked at the sunset. It's beautiful. He took a deep breath.

My life could be so perfect, he thought. It really would be, if there weren't these problems.  
He looked at his mobile. Still no message from his daughter. He put the phone back in his pocket. My daughter and the Latimer case are the only reasons for me to live, he thought.  
So he sat there and thought about his life, his daughter, his ex wife and his future.

Suddenly he heard foot steps behind him. He turned around and saw Ellie standing there. She sat down next to him.

"Please, tell me about your daughter. I promise I'll listen. You'll see, you'll be better after you told me."

"How do you know..?" Alec asked.

"You know, sources."

"Ah, uhm... okay."

Alec looked to the sunset. He hesitated. But then he decided to tell her everything. Maybe I'll really feel better afterwards, he thought.

"My daughter's name is Kate, she's 16 years old and lives with her mother in Glasgow."

He stopped. It's not easy for him to talk about his daughter.

"Do you know how it is having a kid and not being allowed to see it?" he asked Ellie. Tears came to his eyes. He looked at her.

"Having a kid and not being allowed to see it growing up?"

Ellie didn't know what to say. She'd never seen him so sad, so broken.

"What happened?"

"Well... six years ago, my daughter was about ten or eleven years old, her mother and I had... problems. We were arguing very often."

He hesitated.

"I'm not going to tell you about the problems we had. It's too... private."

"Oh, of course you don't have to talk about this. I mean, it's your thing. It's not my problem."

Ellie didn't find the right words, so she decided to be just quiet. Alec looked at her.

"I wasn't going to tell you more about it anyway. But I'll tell you what happened that one night that is... the cause of my problem. We had a big despute. It was terrible! She literally exploded! She even threw bottles at me. I must confess that... I also lost control. She wouldn't stop attacking me, so... what should I've done?  
This couldn't go on like this!"

He hesitated again. It's really hard for him. He took a deep breath and continued.

"I was afraid that she could do something on our daughter, so I took Kate and drove to a hotel in a city near Glasgow."

Ellie stared at him. She couldn't believe what he was saying.  
Alec looked at her. He noticed that she was shocked.

"Do you want me to continue?"

"Uhm... yes... yes, please."

"Okay... On the next day, the police came to our hotel room. They broke up the door and put me in handcuffs. "Abduction of a child". I couldn't believe it. They arrested me for protecting my child! I broke down. Then they took Kate. She was very confused. She didn't understand the trouble. My little girl... the police officer held her hand. She cried and screamed, but he wouldn't let her go. Then he tugged her out of the hotel room and gave her to a social worker. This was the last time I saw her. I haven't seen my daughter in 6 years! Can you believe this?"

Tears streamed down his face. It was very hard for him to tell this story. It was the worst day in his life. Ellie waited a few minutes so he could calm down a bit.

"What happened then?"

"They... they brought me to the police station. They told me that my wife refunded a charge against me."

"Wait what? You didn't do anything wrong, in my opinion. What was the reason?"

" It was... Abduction of our daughter and..." He sighed. "sexual abuse of our daughter."


	3. Chapter 3

"She did what?!"

Ellie couldn't believe it.

"But... this isn't true, right? You never... did... you know..."

"No! Of course not! I never did, and I'd never do!"

Alec's voice cracked.

"She told this lie because she wanted to see me down on the ground. She wanted to destroy my career. She... told this lie because she wanted me to lose Kate. She knew that this would... break my heart. And she achieved what she wanted. Broke my heart, destroyed my career in Glasgow."

"What happened then? Did the police believe you?"

"First they believed what my wife said. I tried so hard to convince them that I'm telling the truth, but they wouldn't believe me. So after six month I had to appear at the court. My wife didn't abandon the lawsuit. She still believed that she could win the trial."

"And? Were you convicted?"

"Uhm... I had to pay a certain sum because of the abduction, but they didn't convicted me on the second charge. They finally believed me. After the trial I was a free man again... but I wasn't happy anymore. My wife and I got divorced, and she kept the child. She still doesn't allow me to see Kate. This is terribly...  
heartbreaking. The following years I spent at several police stations in the UK. I was displaced very often, because my image was ruined."

Ellie was filled with consternation. She didn't understand how anyone can do such treacherous things. And she didn't even want to imagine how she'd feel if someone take her children away from her.

"Is there no chance to see Kate?"

"I don't think so. I bet she thinks that I'm a monster. Her mother surely manipulated her mentally. I don't think that she wants to see me."

He stood up and coughed. He needed a walk now. Alone.

"Well that's enough now. I don't want to talk about this anymore. See you tomorrow, Miller!"

"Uhm... okay then. Good night!"

Ellie also went home then. She spent the rest of the night thinking about what Alec told her. She was glad that he finally opened his heart to her. And she decided to bring Alec and his daughter back together. She didn't know how, but she know that this had to be done.


	4. Chapter 4

Throughout the following days Alec's health got worse everyday, and everyone saw that. But he wouldn't take any help. He still wouldn't admit that there was a serious problem. He tried to distract himself from his illness by working day and night.

In the meantime Ellie tried everything to find out how she could contact Alec's daughter, but she didn't find anything. It was like Kate didn't exist.  
But she didn't give up. And one day she was lucky. She found Kate's e-mail adress. Ellie instantly wrote a e-mail to her. It didn't take long for Kate to write back.

"Dear Mrs Miller!

Thank you for your e-mail! First of all: Please tell my father that I love him! You wrote that he's very sad because I never answer phone calls and E-Mails. That's not my fault! My mother forbid the contact to him! She controls my phone and E-Mails. There was no chance to contact him. Please, tell him this! I miss him so much!  
As soon as there's a chance, I'll visit him!

Kate"

That's it, Ellie thought. Both want to see each other again, so I'll organise a meeting. She decided not to tell Alec about the E-Mail nor the messages from his daughter to him.  
She wanted it to be a big surprise.

One week later Ellie went to meet Kate at the cliffs, where she and Alec were sitting weeks ago. Kate told her mother that she was staying at her friends place over the weekend. She had never lied to her mother before, but she'd do anything to see her dad, that's why she did it. Her mother wouldn't have let her go if she told her the truth.

"Oh hey, you must be Kate! Nice to meet you!"

Ellie smiled at her.

"Yes I am, and you must be Mrs Miller?"

"Please call me Ellie!"

They shook hands. Ellie looked at Kate. She looked a lot like her father.

"So you'd like to see your father as soon as possible, I assume?"

"Yes! That's all I wanted over the past five years!"

"Okay, he's at the police station. I'll bring you there."

They went towards the police station. Suddenly Kate doubted if this was the right moment to see him.

"I think this will be a big shock for him. I hope that's not too much for him, if he's really as ill as you wrote, Ellie."

Ellie looked at the girl. She looked worried.

"Of course he'll be shocked, but I don't think that it'll be that bad."

"I hope so."

After 20 minutes they finally reached the police station. An ambulance was in front of the building. Two paramedics were putting a man on a stretcher into the car.

Oh no, oh no, oh no, Ellie thought. She looked at Kate.

"Please stay over there. I look what's going on over there."

Ellie ran to the ambulance. Her suspicions were confirmed. It was Alec.

"What happened? What.. Why?!" she shouted. She looked at him. He was unconscious. His face was almost completely covered by a breathing mask and hoses.  
She couldn't think clearly. This was so... unreal. What happened? What the hell happened? She tried to talk to him, but he didn't react.

"Please, Alec, don't die, your... your daughter is here, she wants to see you. Come on!"

Alec didn't show any kind of reaction.

"You can't die now!" 


	5. Chapter 5

A doctor came out of the police station.

"Hold her back!"

The doctor jumped into the ambulance and changed some hoses on Alec's body. A police officer tried to take Ellie away from Alec, but he failed. Ellie didn't want to leave Alec alone.

"No, leave me alone! I can't let him go! He... oh my god!"

Finally the officer managed to take her away.

"I want to come with him! And I want to know what happened!"

One of the paramedics turned to Ellie.

"Sorry but you can't! But we're bringing him to St.-James-Hospital. Maybe they'll tell you what happened over there."

The two paramedics closed the door of the ambulance and hurried to get in the car too. They started the blue lights and raced towards St.-James-Hospital in the neighbour city.

Kate was still standing over there, but she realized that something was terribly wrong. She waited till the ambulance had driven away, then she came over to Ellie.

"What happened? Who was this man?"

Ellie looked at her. Should she really tell her that this was her daddy?

"This..." She sniffed. "This was your father, Kate."

"What... why... what... what happened..?" She stuttered.

Kate couldn't believe it. Finally she was going to see her beloved father again and then this. She broke down and cried.

"Come on, Kate. I bring you to the canteen. You need a tea now."

Kate didn't answer. She was numb. Ellie helped her to stand up and brought her to the canteen. There she told two officers to take care of the girl.

Ellie went out of the canteen and into her office room. She sat down and started to cry. Terrible thoughts crossed her mind. What if he's dying? She didn't want him to die like this. Especially not now, when he finally was going to see his daughter again. She felt guilty. She couldn't get rid of the thought that all this was her fault. She should have told him what she did, that she found his daughter and contacted her. She should have told him.

After an hour of self-blame and terrible thoughts Ellie decided to drive to the hospital. She wanted to know what happened. She wiped the tears from her face and went to the canteen, where Kate was still sitting. An officer gave her a cup of tea, but she didn't even seem to notice it. Ellie sat down next to her.

"Kate, I'm driving to the hospital now, but I want you to stay here. I think this is better for you."

"No... no, this is definitely not better for me!"

Kate looked up. Her eyes said it all. This girl didn't want to stay at the police station. This girl wanted to come to te hospital to see her father.

"I'm coming with you!"

Ellie wanted to say something, but then she decided against it. Kate has the right to see her father, or at least to know what happened. 


	6. Chapter 6

They didn't talk to each other during the 30 minutes drive to St.-James-Hospital. Ellie tried to start a conversation, but she didn't find the right words, so she decided not to say anything. At the hospital they needed ages to find out where Alec was. Finally they found a nurse who told them that he was still at the Operating Room. She didn't knew more, so Ellie and Kate had to wait until the surgery was done. They sat down in the waiting room.

The waiting was optimism decreased with every minute.

After three hours a doctor came to the waiting room. It was the same doctor as before.

"Hey you, finally someone you can tell us what happened! Please, tell us!"

The doctor looked at their worried faces.

"Yes indeed. I'm Dr Adam King, the doctor of Mr Hardy. And you are Ellie Miller, a collegue of Mr Hardy, I assume?

"Yes, yes I am. And this is Kate, Alec's daughter."

Ellie's voice was hoarse. She saw in the doctor's face that something is wrong.

"Would you please come to my office?" he asked.

"Yes... of course."

They followed him.

"Please, take a seat."

Ellie and Kate sat down. They looked at Dr King.

"Okay, I think it's better to came straight to point. Alec had a heart attack this afternoon. One of his collegues found him unconscious on the floor in his office."

"Where is he now? I want to see him!" Kate asked.

"You can't see him now, he's still in surgery. He gets a pacemaker. But don't worry, the best surgeons of the country are operating on him."

"And... what are his chances? Will he pull through?" Ellie asked with a whiny voice.

"He has a survival chance by 75 percent, but this can change. The surgery's not over yet."

"So... he will he die or not?" Kate asked quietly.

"I really can't tell you more right now. The surgery's going to be over in about one hour, so please take a seat over there in the waiting room. I will inform you as soon as he's out of the surgery." 


	7. Chapter 7

Ellie and Kate went back to the waiting room. They were in a very glum mood.

"Ellie?"

"Um, yes, Kate?"

"Please, let us talk about something. I can't just sit here and wait."

"But.. Kate.."

"Please!"

So they sat there and talked. They talked about their lives. And they talked about Alec. Kate told Ellie what a loving father Alec was. Ellie was overhelmed.  
The stories Kate told were wonderful. It really showed how much Alec loved his daughter. Suddenly Ellie's guilt feelings came back. She should have told him. She wouldn't be here with Kate right now if she told him!

After an hour Dr King finally came to them.

"The surgery went well! You can now go and see him."

Ellie and Kate jumped up. Finally good news!

"Is he awake? Can we talk to him?" Ellie asked.

"Not now, but he'll wake up within the next 30 minutes."

Dr King led them to the recovery room. They went to Alec, who was still sleeping. He looked sick and pale.

"I let you alone with him now." Dr King said and left.

"Okay, thank you." Ellie answered.

Kate and Ellie sat down on two chairs next to Alec's bed. Kate smiled. She was happy that he survived. She ran her hand across his cheek.

"Hey dad, it's me, Kate."

No reaction.

"Please, dad, come on. Wake up."

"Let him sleep, Kate. He'll wake up when it's time for him to wake up." Ellie said.

"I just want to... okay, yes, you're right."

They just sat there and waited for him to wake up. Kate was holding his hand.

"Oh, Ellie look, his hand! He just pressed my hand!"

"Wow, that's very good!"

Ellie smiled at Kate, who was beside herself with joy. Then she looked at Alec's face. He was still sleeping.

Suddenly the alarm went off. Dr King and two nurses ran into the room.

"Cardiac Arrest!" The doctor shouted. He immediately began the resuscitation. One of the nurses pushed Kate away from Alec.

"Come on, get out!" The nurse said to Kate and Ellie, who were speechless. What the hell is happening?

Unable to contradict they did as they were told. Ellie put her hand on Kate's shoulder as they walked towards the door, but the girl didn't want to leave her dad alone. She wrested from Ellie and ran back to her father. She bent over him and laid her hand on his hair.

"Please, don't die! Please... no..." Tears ran down her cheeks. She took her father's hand. "Please daddy, if you can hear me press my hand!" But there was no reaction.  
Then she looked at the doctor, who was still trying to resuscitate Alec.

"Please, don't let him die! He's my father!" The doctor looked at her briefly and saw how desperate she was. He couldn't tell her truth right now. He decided not to say anything.

Ellie was still standing next to the door. Although she constantly watched Dr King trying to bring Alec back to life, she couldn't believe it. All this. It was so unreal.

It seemed to be hopeless. There were no signs of life anymore. After 30 minutes of several attempts of resuscitation Dr King gave up. Alec's heart didn't start beating again. He was dead.

Dr King looked at his wristwatch. "Time of death: 11:30."

He looked at Kate. "I am so sorry! You see, I tried everything to bring him back to life, but in the end it was all too much for his heart."  
Kate didn't respond. She was still sitting next to her father, holding his hand. Dr King had never seen anyone so broken before.  
Then he looked back to the door, where he expected to see Ellie, but she wasn't there anymore. She went out on the corridor. She was full with guilt and grief. She leand against the wall and sank slowly to the ground. She hid her face in her hands. Why the bloody hell is all this happening?

Throughout the following months everything went back to normality. Ellie wasn't working on the Latimer Case anymore. She gave the case to her collegues. She could no longer work on it.  
She started working on another case. This helped her to forget.

And Kate? Kate went back to her mother. Ellie had never heard from her again. Sometimes she is on the verge of writing Kate a letter, but she never did it. It would be stupid to write her a letter,  
Ellie thought. And what could she have written? "Sorry, it's my fault that you had to lose your father again." - this was the only thing Ellie could think of, but of course this was not an option.  
Kate was living her old life in Glasgow now. Without her father, like she did the years before. The only thing is that this time there was no chance to see her father again.  
She lost him again.

And this time, forever.

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_**Note:** So this was the last chapter of my Broadchurch fanfic! I hope you liked it! Please notice: I have absolutely no idea of medical stuff, so please forgive me if I've written some illogical things in the last chapters.  
_


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